Candle Care, Observed

A good candle is a small ceremony with rules of its own. Keep them and the same candle will give you forty hours of an even, honest burn; ignore them and the first evening decides the rest.

The first burn

Light it where it will not be disturbed, and let it burn until the pool of wax reaches the glass edge — usually two hours. A full melt pool on the first burn prevents tunnelling, the single most common way a candle is ruined in one evening.

Between burns

Trim the wick to five millimetres before every light and straighten it while the wax is soft. Allow the candle to cool fully before relighting; wax has a memory and so does the wick. Keep wax free of matches and trimmings.

Placement

Drafts are the enemy of an even burn and the friend of soot. A shelf away from doorways and vents gives the flame room to stand still. For the fullest throw, an hour before guests arrive is enough — and never let a candle burn lower than one centimetre of wax.